102 cheap and easy DIY Halloween costumes

POSTED BYJody Mace

Looking for a Halloween costume for you or your kids? If you’d like to avoid spending a scary amount of money on a costume but you also don’t want to spend tons of time, here’s a list of 97 cheap and easy Halloween costumes.

This list is from our sister website, Living on the Cheap. There are so many costume ideas that they’re divided into sections: Scary, Real-life people, Pop culture and history, Offbeat, sports themed and animals. Just a few that you’ll find are: Playing Card, Tardis from Doctor Who, Medusa and Zombie Bride.

Do you have more ideas for cheap and easy DIY Halloween costumes? Leave a comment and maybe we can add it to the list.

Hot Air Balloon

Supplies: Small round laundry basket, twine, helium balloon, duct tape. Instructions: Cut out bottom of laundry basket. Put duct tape along edge to protect from sharp edges. Tie twine from front to back of the basket as shoulder straps. Tie helium balloon to basket. Play the part by wearing a scarf.

Playing Card

Supplies: Large pieces of poster board, red or black ribbons, red or black construction paper. Instructions:Cut construction paper into hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades and numbers to replicate a card. Glue them onto the “card” in the proper places. Make two cards that are alike. Punch holes in top upper corners of cards, lace ribbon through to allow “card” to be worn like a sandwich board sign.

Bag of Jellybeans

Supplies: Large, clear plastic bag; scissors, clear packing tape, curling ribbon, colored balloons. Instructions: Blow up lots of colored balloons. Cut holes in plastic bag for arms and legs and reinforce them with duct tape so they don’t split. Fill bag with balloons. Loosely tie the top of the bag at your neck using curling ribbon. Make a jelly bean label out of paper and tape to front of bag.

Floor Lamp

Bag of Trash

Supplies: Large lawn-leaf bag, duct tape, crumpled newspaper, a few empty cereal or other food boxes, crumpled candy wrappers. Safety reflectors. Long underwear and a black plastic top hat. Face paint optional. Instructions: Cut arm and leg holes into the bag. Reinforce the holes with duct tape. Put on long underwear (dark is best), put on the bag and fill the empty spaces with crumpled newspaper and an empty box or two for show. Tie the top shut around the neck (not too tight) with either the bag’s drawstrings or more duct tape. Glue or stick candy wrappers onto the hat. Paint face if desired. Stick a couple of reflectors onto the trash bag for visibility.

Puppet Master

Supplies: Two thin wooden slats (rulers work if you don’t have any scrap lumber), glue or tape, yarn or thin rope. Instructions: This costume requires two people — a parent and child work well. Cross the slats over each other to form an X shape, securing it in the middle with your choice of adhesive. Run yarn or rope from each end of the slats; tie securely (but not too tightly) to second person’s wrists. Optional: The adult can dress in a costume as well — we found an old serape from a South America trip and a leather cowboy hat for our puppet master. But the real secret is practicing a few times with the human puppet to make sure he or she knows to move when you put pressure on the strings.

Eleven from Stranger Things

Rubik’s Cube

Supplies: Cubed box (18″ is good for a child; larger for adult), clear or brown packing tape, black spray paint, red, yellow, green, blue, orange card stock; black electrical or duct tape. Instructions: Cut off bottom cardboard flaps with a box cutter. Trace mixing bowls for a hole on top for your head and two smaller holes on the sides for arms, then cut with box cutter. Tape up box with clear or brown packing tape. Cover entire box with black spray paint and let dry. Cut nine 5″ squares from each color of card stock. Use double-sided tape or spray adhesive to attach them to the black cube, leaving a little less than an inch of black between each square and around the sides. When the squares overlap the arm or head holes, turn the box over and use an exacto knife to cut the excess. Finish off any rough edges with black electrical or duct tape.

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Triangle on the Cheap is a member of Living on the Cheap, a network of websites published by frugalistas, journalists and consumer advocates. Find practical advice on saving money on groceries, travel and shopping, plus tips from our experts on how to live the good life for less at Living on the Cheap.